


The Man Who Sold The World

by Took



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Comics), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 05:27:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3197054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Took/pseuds/Took
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Song that Peter was listening to: The Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. We Passed Upon The Stairs

"Who knows? Not me. We never lost control." Peter Quill sang as he bobbed to the beat blasting out of his headphones next to an uninterested Gamora. "You're face, to face," the slightly known Starlord, danced and swung his arms to the music only he could hear and Gamora's pace quickened. It was the dim of night as they trekked across the artificial grass that smelled of plastic away from the ruckus of the arena. Even though Rocket was far behind her and Peter, she could clearly hear his obnoxious laughter. 

"I knew it was going to be good ol' Bielholm over here! And what does she pick? A lousy Chom? You know when a Chom will ever win? Maybe once in the next millennium! Better luck next time, sweetheart!" He burst into another bout of laughter as Gamora fumed and walked faster toward the Milano. 

"Whoa there, speed racer," Peter's headphones were around his neck still playing music when he caught up to Gamora. "Hey, you know it's just a game, right?"

Gamora kept walking quickly, keeping Peter in a near jog next to her. "That ingrate cost me nearly 400 units! And I am not a racer. I am in no competition of speed."

Peter couldn't help but laugh at Gamora's misunderstanding of his phrase. "Oh, come on. So, you lost a little money at some silly bet at some silly Wari fight on a silly planet that you will never set foot on ever again. Mainly because you killed the chief of the guardsman on your way out and they're probably looking for us right now, but that's besides the point. The point is I had fun. And if I'm not mistaken, for a moment there it looked like you were having fun too."

Gamora spoke over her shoulder, her eyes set on the ship, "I do not care about the units I have lost. I can recover those, it is the trust that cannot be regained. Rocket gave me false information before the fight. Now he taunts me and takes me for a gullible fool. I knew I should not have listened to him. This outing was a mistake, Peter."

"Now don't say that!" Peter called up to her as she climbed the steps into the Milano's cabin. "I wanted us to all have fun together. You know, do something different than our usual game of 'Let's see who can go the longest without killing someone!' Which you, by the way, lost tonight." He picked up a jar more than halfway full of silver rocks, clattering against the glass. "That's another piece for the murder jar." He held it out and shook the glass as he cocked his head at her, smiling. 

Gamora sighed and looked down. She dug into her pocket for a tiny silver rock and dropped it into the outstretched jar before her. Peter could see her smiling. "I wonder," She began, "How much I would owe the murder jar if I just happened to kill Rocket."

"Well, if my calculations are correct, you would owe about 50 jars silver pieces."

Gamora laughed, "Is that all?" 

"And you would owe me a kiss." Peter said, stepping closer to Gamora. 

She walked away from him to the control console, sliding into her chair next to his. "Suddenly Rocket's life does not seem to be in any imminent danger."

She began switching on buttons and the ship roared to life. Peter smiled at her a moment and before he could say anything else, the rest of the crew began filing in. Drax came in first holding the most fragile ice cream cone in his huge claw hands. He sat down and focused only on quickly eating the treat before him. 

"Whoa, slow it down there, hot shot. You're going to get brain freeze at the rate you're going." Once Peter said the words, he immediately regretted it.

Drax looked slowly up at Peter with chocolate smeared on his lips. "A dessert that has the capabilities of encasing craniums in ice? But how can a food so delicious possess such a diabolical power? Explain this, Peter Quill." 

"Uh, never mind. Just don't get it on the seat." Peter said as Groot walked in. Rocket was perched on his shoulder with a smug look on his furry face. The ship began to ascend into the air as Gamora took off. 

"Hey guys, riddle me this." Rocket jumped down onto the seat. "What has two thumbs, is 400 units richer, and outsmarted a top-notch assassin? Eh, eh, anyone?" He gaped at the solemn faces before him.

"Groot?"

"No, not you, you dingus! This guy!" He pointed his thumbs at himself and fell into yet another bout of laughter.

"That's enough, Rocket." Peter scolded. "Good for you, you're a jackass. We all knew that." 

"Well, this jackass knows his common logic, unlike some people in this shuttle. Ain't that right, sweet thing?" Rocket persisted.

"Peter..." Gamora said from the cockpit.

"Enough, Rocket!" Peter said.

"No, Peter, come here!" Gamora called. He turned around to her and the console. "Someone has been in here." She muttered.

"What? No, that's impossible. I locked her up." 

"Listen to me," She whispered shrilly. He had to lean closer to hear over Rocket's banters from behind him. "Someone has been in here and they have not left. They are still here." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song that Peter was listening to: The Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie


	2. We Spoke of Was and When

"No, no. That's impossible. I made sure she was locked up before we left. I know I did." Peter stammered. Out of the front windshield, they were already far above the ground, nearing the planet's atmospheric edge. Once they crossed that threshold, there was no going back. 

"I know a breach when I see one. Trust me." Gamora said staring intently on the endless dark sky before her. "If we request to land again, they will restrict us to the ground and keep us here for good. Might I remind you that none of us have the cleanest records. I will fly us to the nearest exoplanet but it will take some time. You need to secure your ship, Peter. Now."

Peter nodded and spun around, still hardly believing anyone was able to break into the Milano. "You two, with me." He gestured to Drax and Rocket and continued walking to the inner cabin. "We've got a stowaway." 

"Aw, yeah, time to break out the big ones!" Rocket exclaimed, springing up to retrieve his newly purchased guns. Drax followed, still holding tightly to a dripping ice cream cone.

"No, no way." Peter said. "I just finished fixing the interior of this place. I don't need anymore gaping bullet holes in the walls." 

"How do you figure we take down this stowaway then? Huh?" Rocket asked. 

"Uh, use the little ones. You know, the ones that won't destroy the walls and send us hurling into the abyss."

"That's no fun." Rocket grumbled. 

"I am Groot?" 

"You stay up here with Gamora. Keep your eyes open. Make sure nothing happens." Peter ordered. Groot nodded as they left, leaving him alone with Gamora. 

The three entered the middle chamber and searched every storage compartment and crawl space. Rocket tore through blankets and tools, scattering them across the floor. Drax searched one handed, eyes still on his ice cream. Peter lifted the door to his sleeping compartment when his eyes locked onto something across the room, stopping him instantly.

"No..." He muttered. He ran to his cassette player. "No, no no no no." The cassette tray ejected with a click of the button, empty. His mother's cassette was gone.

"Goddammit!" He punched the wall next to him and fumed. For once, Rocket was silent. 

"If the stowaway is still here, your music is still here." Drax tried to comfort after a moment of silence. When we find him, I will rip his arms off. Not all is lost." 

Peter opened his mouth to respond when a body fell from the ceiling, landing directly on Peter's shoulders and wrapped its legs around his neck. The figure brought the butt of his metal staff down hard on Peter's skull, instantly bringing him to his hands and knees. The hooded figure spun away and landed swiftly on his feet before dealing another blow to the back of his head and slamming the heel of his boot squarely on his back. Peter's head swam as his face hit the ground harshly. He coughed up blood as he watched the figure advance toward Drax. 

The intruder's cloak billowed behind him as he slowly gained speed toward Drax with his weapon wielded and ready. At the end of the staff was an intricately curved blade that glistened in the low light. Drax's eyes darted between the rushing figure and his ice cream quickly before throwing the treat from his hands and brandishing his dual blades. Their weapons collided with a scraping of metal as Drax used all his weight to push him forcefully, sending him stumbling backwards. Drax advanced on him, his blades coming down in death blows one after the other, but the intruder blocked every one with the metal staff of his scythe. The blocks were quick and swift, but Drax knew his opponent was tiring. With both blades raised in the air, Drax swung down aggressively with a deafening roar.

The intruder met his blades at the last moment with his staff, but the force knocked him backwards against the wall. He struggled against Drax's strength as the blades inched nearer to his face, that was still cloaked and concealed behind a dark veil. Even at this close proximity, Drax could not identify his enemy. When the intruder's arms began to shake, he smiled menacingly at his opponent. Drax knew he would be victorious.  His smile suddenly faded when the metal scythe between them began to glow intensely blue. The scythe flashed brightly, momentarily blinding Drax as he stumbled backwards. 

"Where are you? Show yourself!" Drax roared as he swung his blades blindly. A series of blows landed on him from every direction. He slashed his blades through the empty air only for them to be knocked from his hands. He saw glimpses of a shadow around him, landing blows with every opportunity with not one weapon but two. His scythe had split into a pair of tonfas, one longer than the length of this forearm, the other with a blade at the end. Drax fell to his knees and the blade was immediately at his throat. The figure stood behind him. 

"Strike true, warrior." Drax spoke. "I do not fear death. But remember my face, for I will find you in the next life. And I will destroy you." 

The blade remained still for a moment and Drax realized that his opponent did not want him dead. Then, from behind them, came a voice. 

"Hey, ugly! Get a load of this!" Rocket yelled as he fired two shots from a gun half the size of him directly at the intruder. The first blast tore through his left shoulder, the second landed on his thigh, causing him to drop his weapons and send him sprawling to the ground for a moment before lying completely still. Drax turned around and Peter had finally risen to join them.

"He's still alive." Peter said.

Rocket looked sadly at his new gun as he approached. "Looks like my aim is a little off with this one. Oh, well. I won't miss this time." He aimed the gun at the intruder's head.

"Wait!" Drax yelled. Rocket looked up but did not lower his gun. "I wish to look upon the face that almost took my life." Drax knelt next to the figure, motionless on the ground. Dark blood oozed out of the wounds, trickling on the floor. He raised the figure in his arms and grabbed a handful of the hood of the cloak, yanking it backward. Thick, dark hair came tumbling out in loose curls down the intruder's back.

The holographic veil that was concealing his identity immediately dissipated, revealing a young woman's face. 


	3. Although I Wasn't There

Groot sat quietly behind the co-pilot's seat, watching Gamora navigate and fly through the darkness surrounding them. Her hands worked nimbly, pushing buttons and switching levers quickly. Every so often, she would glance backward at Groot and towards the dim light farther back in the cabin, waiting for someone, anyone to emerge. Her eyes met Groot's for a moment. He could sense her uneasiness with the situation. She was growing more worried with every passing moment.

"I am Groot." He said softly and for a single moment she was comforted. She smiled weakly.

"I know." Gamora returned her gaze to the sky beyond her. "I know."

Out of the corner of his eye, Groot spotted a small movement. He turned to see a transparent ripple, distorting the air and the image behind it, just as a heat wave in the distance would. He cocked his head to the side, watching the ripple move and shimmer before him. He reached a massive arm out slowly, the bark creaking softly as it extended. His fingers were inches from the ripple when voices coming from the cabin. He looked to the inner chamber and saw the three silhouettes of his friends walking towards them. When he turned back to the ripple, it was gone. He stared a moment at the place it had been and lowered his arm in confusion. 

"Peter," Gamora said as the three filed in. She set the Milano to auto-pilot and rose from the captain's seat, immediately going to Peter. "What happened to you?" She asked as Peter stepped into the light, revealing the blood splattered on his mouth and down his chin. 

"We found the stowaway." Peter said, wiping the remnants of blood from his lips. 

"More like she found us." Rocket remarked, still holding his gun in one hand.

"She took my tape," Peter muttered to Gamora. She immediately understood. "I checked her cloak, her pockets. Nothing."

"We'll find it, Peter." Gamora said. 

"I have to admit, she's definitely a tough cookie. She nearly took down tiny over here." Rocket laughed. 

"Do not call me tiny. Do you lack the capability of correctly identifying size proportions? You are clearly mistaken, for it is you that is  _tiny_." Drax commented and Rocket rolled his eyes. Drax carried the young woman in his arms, her head dangling limply and her black clothes now drenched in blood.   


"She is still alive." Gamora noticed. "You did not finish her? Are you complete fools?" 

"That's what I'm saying!" Rocket yelled and cocked his gun. 

"No! No. We aren't murdering her just yet. At least not until I find my tape. After that, by all means, kill her. Until then, we search her. Remove all her weapons, restrain her. We're not giving her a second chance to kill us." Peter ordered. 

Drax hesitated a moment before speaking up, "It is true, she did fight well. She fought as a fierce warrior who has killed many times. I know what it is to see only death in an enemy's eyes. I could not see her face, yet I knew. She held her weapon to my neck and she spared me. I am certain she does not wish death upon us."

"So what would you have us do? Would you rather her come back and slaughter us in our sleep so she could dump our bodies on some forsaken planet while she flies away in MY ship, happily listening to David Bowie? What a splendid idea, Drax!" Peter yelled, the edge in his voice getting stronger with every word. 

Drax remained calm. "I am certain, Peter Quill. She will do us no harm." 

Gamora stepped between them, placing her hand on Peter's chest, preventing him from getting any closer to Drax. "Enough, both of you. She is not going anywhere with those wounds. She will bleed out before you are even able to question her. For now, we must make sure she does not die before then. I will patch her up enough for her to wake up in a few hours and talk to us. Only after will we be able to determine whether she gets off this ship dead or alive. Understood?" She looked to both of them. 

"Fine." Peter muttered as he turned his back on them and flopped in his seat in the cockpit. Without another word, he switched off the auto-pilot and began flying. 

"Understood." Drax confirmed. 

Gamora nodded silently and gestured for Drax to bring her in the other room, where she could tend to the woman's wounds. 

Rocket looked down sadly at his new gun, speaking to it sweetly. "Not today, my friend. But soon, I promise." Rocket laid his gun down and sat in the chair next to Peter.

Only Groot heard the small whimper come from the corner of the room. There, the small ripple shimmered and danced, barely noticeable in the shadows. Groot stared and brought a finger to his lips, in a gesture indicating to be quiet. The whimpers subsided as Groot lowered his hand before anyone else could notice. 


	4. He Said I Was His Friend

"Press your space face close to mine, love. Freak out in a moonage daydream..." The Milano soared through the darkness as Star Lord sat in his captain's chair, absentmindedly watching the stars fly past as he listened to his first mix tape, singing along softly.

It was the first one his mother gave him so many years ago. The music was low enough for his thoughts to wander freely and it always seemed to wander to the same place. Listening to these songs was like listening to his mother. He imagined her often: he could see her dancing, swaying, singing along to the words of the songs she held so dear. He imagined her shimmying her shoulders, kicking her feet and then pointing to him when it was his turn to dance battle. But Peter realized imagining and remembering were two different things, and his final memory of his mother was not of her dancing.

He barely remembered what Earth was like, but every now and then while striding on a new planet images would come back to him. It would happen so suddenly; the sunlight would catch in a wind chime, or smoke would drift from a fire, or a slow continuous beep would sound from a nearby ship.

Peter didn't know how long he had been away from Earth. That's the thing about being thousands and thousands of light-years from the place you once called home, you realize that everybody is looking to a different sky. There is no one sun to tell you when the day is through. The moons have names and civilizations upon them, and none are the one he looked up to and just called The Moon. Out here, there is no night and day, months or years. You are here and that is all. Swimming, floating, drowning in vast darkness. Peter had made peace with this realization long ago; it even encouraged and inspired him sometimes. But every so often the feeling turned dark and had a habit of crawling underneath his skin and burrowing into his bones, leaving him cold and alone. 

Quite some time had passed since their run-in with the intruder and yet she still had not awoken. Rocket and Groot sat behind Peter, going through the mysterious woman's items and weapons. 

"Two highly charged photon guns on either hip, a dagger with poison etched into the metal hidden in each boot, a rucksack containing four plasma bombs powerful enough to turn us all to dust, and a technologically altered battle scythe that is only triggered by her specific fingerprints. This girl wasn't messing around." Rocket stared at the woman's artillery that was splayed before him. He scratched his head, trying to make sense of it all. "Its a wonder we're still alive." He spoke quietly. He looked up at Groot who held a small white square in his hand. He turned it over and inspected it from every angle, before pressing a button a lighting up a dim screen. 

"Hey, hey! Don't mess with things you don't know nothing about! You'll blow us all up!" Rocket snatched the mechanism from Groot's hands. He turned it over in his hands once before saying, "What the hell is this thing?" 

Drax entered the cabin slightly out of breath. Peter turned around and brought his headphones around his neck. "She is awake." Drax said. Peter immediately got up and walked past everyone, straight to the inner chambers. Rocket dropped the device he was holding and followed, with Drax right behind him. Groot stood up slowly, looking to the weapons, then around the empty cabin. His eyes finally fell on the ripple, hiding in the corner. He shook his head slowly from side to side, as if to say, "no", before ducking down in the hallway and following his friends. 

Gamora stopped them before they could all enter the inner chamber. "Did she say anything about my cassette?" Peter immediately asked.

"She has not said a word yet. My first-aid is not the best, she could pass out at any moment. I'm an assassin, not a medic. But she's stubborn. Almost as stubborn as you." Gamora said.

"Yeah?" Peter smiled. "We'll see about that." He walked past Gamora and saw girl propped up with an elbow on the table. She looked younger now than she had when she was unconscious. A white bandage stained with blood was wrapped haphazardly around her shoulder and her mid-thigh. She was drenched in sweat and strands of her long dark hair stuck to her forehead. Bloodshot eyes rimmed with dark bags beneath them stared at Peter as he walked in and circled her. 

"Hey, there." He walked slowly, keeping his eyes on her and a friendly smile on his face. "How you holding up? Looks like you took quite a shot there, and there." He gestured at her wounds. "Those were courtesy of my friend over here. You see, he loves guns. Big guns, specifically. And he's been dying to use his new one. Let her have a look see, Rocket." 

Rocket held up his gun proudly, "Ain't she a beauty?" The woman stared, but not at the gun. Her eyes remained on Rocket until Peter spoke again. 

"How about we cut to the chase? Have you ever seen one of these?" Peter held up his cassette tape. "There was another one, in that player over there. Its gone. You either give it back to me or I let Rocket use your face as target practice. Easy as that. Your move."

The woman stared between Peter's face and the cassette he held in his hands. "Is that it?" She laughed and leaned back farther on her elbow, wincing at the pain. "That's what this," she gestured with her good arm at everyone, "is all about?" 

Peter and Gamora exchanged glances. The woman sighed, "Well. Joke's on you because I don't have your precious cassette tape. Maybe if you cleaned up this shit hole once in a while, you would keep better track of your things. Or what? Does your mommy still pick up after you?" 

Peter's face was stone. He gently took a lock of her hair and rubbed it in between his fingers before placing it behind her wounded shoulder. His hand lingered on her shoulder before he pushed his thumb on the bandage as she screamed in agony. Blood spurted out and stained the bandages a darker read as Peter pushed down harder. 

"Peter!" Gamora yelled, but she was ignored. She turned her back and left the chamber. 

"Tell me everything. Why are you here? Why are you intruding on MY ship?" Peter barked at the woman who was writhing in pain. 

"I..." Her words came out choked and gasped. "I was looking for a ship that can take me far from here. This was the only one I saw that would survive the journey."

"How far we talking here?" Peter asked calmly, still pressing down on her wound.

"Far. Farther than anything, or anywhere you've ever been." She spat.

"Where? Tell me where!" Peter was yelling. Gamora entered the room again. 

Gamora yelled over the cries of the girl. "Peter, there's a problem. She is not working alone. There is something else here with us." Peter glanced up at Gamora for a second. Drax and Rocket were already leaving the cabin, weapons in hand. When Peter looked back down, the girl was unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Peter is listening to is called Moonage Daydream by David Bowie, which does appear in the movie of Guardians of the Galaxy. Peter is on a bit of a David Bowie kick :)


End file.
